Research shows that small- and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) do not adequately assess the value of their firm's
Intellectual Property even though many understand that IP is very
important to the success of their business.
A 2015 survey published by the UK Intellectual Property Office
showed that more than 92 percent of SMEs believed that
understanding how to protect IP was either "quite
important" or "essential." However, the survey
showed that more than one-third of SMEs choose not to protect IP
that they own and that 96 percent of all respondents, including
large companies, hadn't valued their IP at all.
Such findings are unfortunate given the positive impact that IP
has on businesses trying to scale up their operations and add value
to the company. A 2017 working paper
released by the National Bureau for Economic Research indicates
that startups obtaining a patent since 2001 experienced 55 percent
employment growth and 80 percent sales growth within five
